Multilocus and multiregional phylogeny reconstruction of the genus Sarcophaga (Diptera, Sarcophagidae)

The flesh-fly genus Sarcophaga is extremely diverse and contains ca. 30% of the species in the family Sarcophagidae (∼3000 species). The phylogenetic position of the genus-group taxa Helicobia, Lipoptilocnema, and Peckia remains uncertain with respect to the hyperdiverse Sarcophaga, due to conflicting phylogenetic trees and insufficient sampling in recent studies. We present maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of 145 species of 48 subgenera of the genus Sarcophaga from all biogeographic regions based on the molecular markers COI, 28 D1-D3 expansion regions, EF1α, and white. Our analyses find (Lipoptilocnema+Peckia) as the sister group of the monophyletic Sarcophaga. The genus Helicobia is placed outside Sarcophaga. Our hypotheses suggest that the ancestor shared by Sarcophaga and its sister clade originated in the Neotropical region, and the subsequent range expansion might be related to the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. This study supports the monophyly of most of the subgenera of Sarcophaga included here, and it shows the evolution of this genus to be a rapid radiation occurring in the Nearctic region with a subsequent dispersal into the Old World. The subgeneric clusters within Sarcophaga are in agreement with the current classification, with only Mauritiella, Rosellea, Helicophagella, Liosarcophaga, and Sarcorohdendorfia being non-monophyletic. We also validate the monotypic condition of 10 subgenera.